Confused
by Selena Snow
Summary: People were just confused, that was all. Or perhaps she was the one who was confused…but surely Hermione was capable of simply caring for someone as a friend. So why did everyone insist otherwise? (Post Battle of Hogwarts. AU where George died instead of Fred. Sad but fluffy Fremione. Two-Shot.)
1. Chapter 1

People were just confused, that was all.

Honestly, it was like the Triwizard Tournament all over again. It's as if people simply cannot understand that I am capable of caring for more than one person. Yes, obviously, I was there with Ron for the majority of the first few days after the Battle. After a while, however, I began branching out.

I began to check in on Harry more, seeing as how Ginny, for all her knowledge of the boy who lived, had no clue as to how to comfort him when he was like this. Ginny completely understood, of course. I had known him longer and knew him better. She may not have liked it when I stayed in bed with him after he had nightmares, but she wouldn't say anything. She knew that my mere presence did wonders for his anxiety. After all, that was all he'd had the past few months, and vice versa for myself.

Oddly enough, this wasn't where the problems began. All the Weasleys (who I was staying with for the time being) knew that Harry and I had become even closer during the year we searched for horcruxes. Even Ron was fine with it.

No, the problems began when I started to help Fred.

I suppose it was understandable in a way. After all, we hardly knew each other. Honestly, we were night and day, but I suppose that war does that to people- it brings them together.

It started one night when I was on my way to Harry, actually. I had thought I heard him scream, and I had quickly gotten out of bed to go to the bedroom he shared with Ron. When I walked in, I saw Ginny sitting there with her arms around Harry, whispering something to calm him down. She looked up at me and smiled sadly.

"I got this," she mouthed, and I nodded. I would have gone straight back to bed if I hadn't heard another person wake up. This, however, wasn't a scream. It sounded like…crying? Which was odd, considering the fact that I was walking past where Fred was sleeping. Fred, to his credit, hadn't cried all week. He'd simply walked around in a daze, as if he was confused and in denial. No one had gotten up the courage to speak to him yet. No one knew how to.

Staring at the door, listening to his agonizing sobs, I took in a deep breath. I had to do something…I couldn't just let him suffer like this. I knocked on the door as a soft warning before I opened the door. There he was, sitting on the floor and crying uncontrollably over a sweater with the letter "F" on it.

I paused. I didn't know him at all. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't leave him, though. Bolstering all of my courage, I went over and sat behind him. I placed my hands on his neck and began massaging it. It always helped Harry calm down, and I prayed that it would have the same effect on Fred.

He didn't stop crying until ten minutes later, which I was thankful for, because my hands had begun to cramp up. I came beside him now, rubbing his arms up and down soothingly. "Breathe in," I instructed, taking in a deep, slow breath. "Breathe out." He followed my instructions, still clutching the sweater in his hands.

Once he was calm, I smiled softly at him. "There you go," I whispered, fixing his bed-head hair back to normal. He shut his eyes, evidently taking comfort in this small action. "What happened, Fred?" I asked quietly, not wanting to startle him.

He took in a shallow, shuddering breath. "I just-" his voice cut off, and I began playing with his hair again to calm him down. It took a minute for him to recover, but even then his voice was shaky. "It was this dream…but it didn't feel like it. Geor- he-," he substituted, unable to say his name. "-was there and everyone else…it was Christmas, and we were all happy." Fred took in another shaky breath, prompting me to once more instruct him to breathe in and out.

"I-I woke up, and…I went to get a glass of water, but I saw this…" he told me, holding up the sweater so that I could see the large "F". He let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob. "We always traded ours so people would get confused."

I smiled at this, reaching out and tracing the "F" on the sweater with my finger. I could practically hear Fred holding his breath. After a moment, I looked up into his eyes. They were red and puffy and completely broken. I didn't even think about what I was doing when I put my hand on his cheek.

"I know it hurts, Fred," I whispered, watching as he shut his eyes as tight as he could. "No, I don't understand what it feels like. I wish I did so I could help you more, but…" I trailed off when he opened his eyes and stared deeply into my own. He looked so lost.

I cleared my throat and gave him a half-hearted smile. "It will get better. Not immediately, but one day," I told him, distractedly brushing away a hair that had fallen in front of his eyes.

"Promise?" he whispered. I felt him reach up and grab my hand, as if he just needed something to hold onto.

I nodded in the darkness of the night. "Promise."

After this, I started watching Fred more closely. He still walked around in a daze, but he started talking to the others. Mrs. Weasley practically suffocated him in a hug when he spoke to her for the first time in over a week. I can still remember her whispering, "Please come back to us, Fred…oh please, I can't lose you, too."

I made it a point now to check on Fred before I went to bed. Ginny now knew how to handle Harry, leaving me free to help Fred as much as I could. With each passing night, he seemed to get better. Sometimes he would talk, others he wouldn't, and I would simply sit there massaging his neck or playing with his hair.

It was about this time when things started becoming odd.

Ron started getting angry about how much time I was spending with Fred. Mrs. Weasley started using me as a messenger to Fred for when it was time to eat or something else. Mr. Weasley started asking me for updates every morning. Even Percy cornered me, demanding that I tell him what he should do. When I didn't understand his question, Percy sighed loudly.

"Well, you know him better than the rest of us, right?" he'd responded, sounding both frustrated and concerned. "You're the only one he opens up to, now."

The day that Ron came in when I was lying with Fred, however, was when things went really wrong.

"First I find you sleeping with Harry, and now this?" he shouted, gesturing wildly to how I was lying down next to Fred on his bed.

I rolled my eyes, not caring about Ron's presence enough to stop smoothing down Fred's hair. I got up from the bed slowly, hoping that Fred wouldn't wake up. He didn't. He'd cried himself to sleep that night.

Once I shut the door to Fred's room, I spun around and crossed my arms. "Oh honestly, Ronald! Do you even understand what he's going through right now?" I huffed angrily.

Ron looked absolutely furious. "Of course I do! He was my brother, too!"

"Yes, but not your twin," I stressed, trying to make him understand. "They meant more to each other than you could imagine."

He turned away, mad that I was right and he was wrong. "That doesn't mean you have to be with him all the time," he muttered. "Other people want comfort, too."

I rolled my eyes once more. "The last time I tried to hug you, you said you didn't want it. My apologies for moving on and helping someone who actually needs help," I snapped, turning on my heel and walking away.

I remember what Fred said the next night when I came in to check on him before he went to sleep. "You don't have to be here," he'd mumbled. "You can go be with Ron or whatever."

I shook my head and lied down on his bed, tugging at his shirt gently to make him follow my lead. This had become our routine, now- we lied down, he talked if he wanted to, and if he didn't then I simply held him and let him cry until he fell asleep. Most of the time I would leave after I was sure he was asleep, but sometimes I would accidentally fall asleep with him.

"I'm sorry for makin' you'n Ron fight," he said quietly, sounding guilty.

I sighed and ran a distracted hand through his hair. "It's not your fault," I sighed. "I think it was inevitable. I've hardly seen him the past few days," I admitted with a small shrug. "How have you been today?"

And just like that, we were back on schedule.

Even now, just a few weeks later, all the Weasleys come to me when they want to know about Fred. Ron hasn't spoken to me in quite some time, always finding an excuse to leave the room when I enter. What's so odd, however, is that I've begun getting different types of questions.

Like Mrs. Weasley, for example. She asked me how "we" were doing. Not just Fred. And then Ginny started asking if Ron and I were no longer together. Which lead to Harry being concerned about me. Which lead to the rest of the Weasleys being concerned about me, as well as being curious about Fred and I's "relationship".

People were just confused, that was all.

Or perhaps I was the one who was confused. All I know is that when news of Fred and I's supposed "relationship" reached Ron, he immediately stormed out of the house, found me, and ended our relationship. That was when I decided to leave.

I walked upstairs to Fred's bedroom and sighed. I didn't want to leave him all alone. I wished I could just take him back with me to Hogwarts. Reconstruction of the school was underway, and they were taking all the help they could get. McGonagall had even offered me a room to stay in while I was helping there.

I knocked on the door as a soft warning before I opened it. Fred was rummaging through a chest on the floor, looking for something. Once he found it, he pulled out a sweater with a large "G" on it. He pulled it over his head and sighed softly before he finally turned around to look at me.

"Hello, 'Mione," he greeted with a small smile. "What're you doing here?"

I took in a shaky breath. "I'm leaving," I told him quickly, unable to watch as the semi-happy look in his eyes immediately shattered. "I'm going back to Hogwarts to help with reconstruction," I rambled on, my hands fidgeting anxiously.

Fred bit his lip, looking down at the floor. "When are you leaving?" he asked softly.

I swallowed. "In a few minutes. I thought I'd say goodbye…" I trailed off. I had no idea what to say. I felt so selfish for leaving him. "Would you…want to come with me?" I asked hopefully. "You could help, too, but you wouldn't have to if you didn't want to-" I stopped myself. What was I saying? Why would he want to come back to the place his twin died?

As if he read my mind, Fred gave me a half-hearted smile. "Maybe later. Right now… it's just…"

"Too hard, I understand," I cut in, finishing his sentence for him. We stood there in silence, neither knowing what we should do. Before I could open my mouth to say something, Fred rushed forward and hugged me tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you, Hermione," he whispered brokenly.

I hugged him back as tight as I could, feeling my eyes water and my throat become constricted. "I'm going to miss you too, Fred," I told him, a forced laugh coming out. When he loosened his grip on me, I gazed into his eyes and put my hand on his cheek. Fred shut his eyes and sighed, moving forward to lean his forehead against my own.

"I'll come visit you when I can," he said, rubbing a hand up and down my back.

"Promise?" I whispered.

He nodded, lips curved into a smile. "Promise."

Yes, surely people were just confused. That had to be the reason I ran out when he tried to kiss me. That had to be the reason my eyes were wet when I apparated. That had to be the reason I felt so lonely that night when I tried to sleep on my own. That had to be the reason I wished I could see Fred more than anything.

People were just confused.


	2. Chapter 2

It was only a few weeks into my stay at Hogwarts, and life was already a living hell. Every waking moment, one particular person stayed on my mind. I refused to actually think of his name, let alone say it, just because of the simple fact that it made me feel even worse to remember the way his name slipped off my tongue so smoothly.

At this point, it was just a matter of time before my wand started shaking in my unsteady hands, my eyes started drooping, and my head started nodding off during the early morning meetings to discuss which parts of the castle would be rebuilt that day. Professor McGonagall, of course, was the first to notice these signs.

"Hermione, why don't you take a rest today? You don't look very well," she told me with a fair amount of concern in her voice.

I just smiled back at her tiredly. "I'm fine, Professor. Perhaps I'll rest tomorrow." This was a lie, and by the look on the Professor's face, she knew it, too. But with that stern, motherly look in her eyes, she walked away, leaving a silent warning floating in the air.

The next day was when things- once again- started to become very messed up. It was as if a plague was following me wherever I went. I was walking past McGonagall's office when I heard a voice I knew far too well.

"What did you need me for, Professor?" Ronald asked after the sound of a floo.

"Thank you for coming, . Please, sit down. Tea?" the Professor responded.

My breath hitched, and I knew that I should walk away, but I couldn't. I could hear the sound of teacups and saucers clanking together softly, and I was far too curious as to what they were going to discuss. And also, why I hadn't been told that Ron was coming in the first place.

"I have called you here out of concern for Miss Granger. I understand that after the war was over, the two of you became…closer."

"Yeah, but not really…not anymore."

"Oh? Well, in that case, who do you think would be best suited to speak with her? I fear she has a nasty habit of overworking herself- one that I have seen throughout her years with her studies, but this is far worse. Did something happen that made her come here? Something…bad?"

I held my breath, worried at what Ron would say. I hoped for once in my life that his pride would take over, and he would be too proud to say that it was he who drove me to come here.

"No, ma'am, I can't think of anything."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, there was the scraping of a chair against the stone floor and the sound of a teacup being put down harshly.

"But if you want help for Hermione, get Fred. She doesn't care for me anymore."

There was the sound of a floo, and then- nothing. When I heard footsteps coming toward the door, I quickly apparated away from the scene. I found myself down by the lake, a place that had become peaceful and relaxing for my constantly busy mind. I lied down in the grass and breathed in slowly.

Fred. There he was. Just when I thought I had blocked him out of my mind for good, he was back again, as if it was all some sort of joke. Regardless of how much I didn't want it to, the thought made me smile. Fred loved jokes. He would have found it funny, too. But now Fred might be coming to Hogwarts at any moment.

I groaned and shut my eyes as tightly as I could. One part of myself dreaded Fred coming, but another part of myself longed for it. I missed him, plain and simple. I missed Fred Weasley, and those stupid blue eyes that could melt my heart with one glance. I missed the way he would nestle his nose into my hair when he held me close. I missed the way he smelled, even- freshly mown grass, new parchment, and spearmint toothpaste. It was utterly intoxicating.

Perhaps I wasn't better off without him like I previously thought.

The next day, my mind was still in a haze with thoughts of Fred. Dear, wonderful, handsome Fred. I wanted so badly to ask McGonagall if she had owled for him yet, but that would seem odd. So instead, I went around helping with the reconstruction as usual, carrying a whimsical smile on my face and glancing every which way for a head of red hair.

"-ah, yes, indeed that will do. Miss Granger?" I heard as McGonagall entered the top of the astronomy tower, where I and a few other witches were busy creating a remembrance for Dumbledore.

I turned and tried to not smile so much. "Yes?"

"You're needed down in the Great Hall for extra help. It would seem that they are incapable of remembering simple spells, and therefore doing everything manually," she reported, looking entirely flustered.

My face fell. So she hadn't contacted Fred. "Yes, Professor, I'll go right away." I walked away with my eyes downcast, completely missing the little twinkle in her eyes.

When I arrived in the Great Hall, I pulled out my wand and sighed. "Alright, what seems to be the troubl-"

Standing there, completely alone in the silent and empty room, was Fred. My Fred. Beautiful, endearing, incredible Fred. My heart felt as light as a feather and as jumpy as a firecracker all at once.

But he was still. Just standing there. He didn't look up, he just stood there. And then I realized what he was looking at. I had created it myself, after all. On one wall, with many other plaques just like it, was an engraving set in metal that said, "In Honor of George Weasley. He will never be forgotten.". The words sounded too plain, too dull for someone as great and memorable as George.

My shoes flapped noisily on the stone floor as I walked over toward Fred. Only when I was a meter away did he turn to look at me. The moment I saw his teary eyes, it was as if all time lost between us vanished.

I reached up and brushed some of the red hairs I had missed so dearly out of his face. "Breathe in," I instructed softly. "Breathe out."

After a minute of this old exercise, he chuckled softly. "And here I was told I was comin' to help _you_," he murmured.

"Perhaps we can help each other," I suggested quietly. Fred hummed and wrapped his arms tightly around me. The second he started nuzzling the top of my head with his nose, I shut my eyes and let myself fall against his chest.

"I missed you," he whispered sadly. "I'm sorry for trying to kiss you, but just-" his voice started to crack. "Don't leave me. It hurts too much."

I took in a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry for leaving at all. Ron was being a prat, and-"

"When isn't he?" Fred cut in, making me giggle.

"True…" I mumbled, nuzzling my nose into his jumper. It was the same one as before- the one with the big "F". By now it looked as if it had been worn every single day, all ratty and stretched out. "I think I was just confused…about us." I could feel Fred stiffen, but I went on.

"All of the sudden, everyone thought we were together, but we weren't…and I was so confused about it all," I explained, then laughed quietly. "It's sort of funny. I thought everyone else was confused, when really it was me." Fred seemed to relax a bit, letting me rest comfortably against him once more.

I could smell it again. Grass, parchment, and toothpaste. I smiled dreamily, my eyes fluttering shut. I was still confused about my own feelings for Fred. There was something there, but I couldn't figure it out. Perhaps it was because my senses were currently being clouded by Fred's intoxicating scent.

Wait. Grass, parchment, and toothpaste. Amortentia.

I almost wanted to laugh. Or maybe cry. Or jump up and yell and do it all at once. Fred smelled like amortentia. Which could only mean, of course, that-

"Come home with me," Fred pleaded softly. I looked up at him. He looked completely nervous, staring down at the ground and avoiding my eyes. "To Diagon Alley. You can have the other bedroom…you can still come here and help with the reconstruction, but I-"

I nodded slowly, idly playing with the fringe of his hair and still thinking about my own revelation. The small action worked, causing Fred to calm down and finally look into my eyes. Hesitantly, I leaned up on my toes and placed my lips on his. He moved his lips against my own gently, his hands clutching me to him almost desperately. When I was back down on my feet, I smiled up at him shyly.

"Let's go home."


End file.
